NASIMCO Post

A Fortnightly Newsletter
September 15th, 2011 
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In This Issue
East Africa Famine Crisis
9/11 Remembered
Qum Summer Camp Feedback
Minnesota Jamaat - Interfaith Event
ALI Courses
Conference of Council of Shia Muslim Scholars
Conference on Shi'i Islam

Featured Charities

 
Donate towards the

East Africa Famine Relief

 

Donate towards the

Pakistan Flood Appeal

Islam in the News

Muslim Group wants Orange Councilman to Apologize for 9/11 Remark 

 

From the Facebook page of Jon Dumitru, you'd learn that the councilman from Orange is inspired by Abraham Lincoln, William Howard Taft and Ronald Reagan, that he speaks five languages and loves food trucks, Xbox games and Texas Hold 'Em, as well as movies including "The Hangover" and "Top Gun."

But his recent remarks blaming Muslims for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are what's suddenly getting attention.

The comments, in conjunction with the anniversary of the attacks, prompted representatives of the local Muslim community Thursday to ask for an apology.

Dumitru's posting reads as follows:

"It was 10 years ago today that most Americans learned first hand of the teachings of Islam and the Koran being filled with messages of peace....as they killed thousands of our fellow Americans! Today I remember those lost, left behind, and those across the world searching for these pure evil terrorists and dispatching them from this world! WE WILL NEVER FORGET, WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE!"

 

To read more, click here.

Muslim Personalities

Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali
   

Abu Hamid Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazali was born in 1058 A.D. in Khorasan, Iran. His father died while he was still very young but he had the opportunity of getting education in the prevalent curriculum at Nishapur and Baghdad. Soon he acquired a high standard of scholarship in religion and philosophy and was honoured by his appointment as a Professor at the Nizamiyah University of Baghdad, which was recognised as one of the most reputed institutions of learning in the golden era of Muslim history.

After a few years, however, he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of mystical transformation.

 

Ghazali's major contribution lies in religion, philosophy and sufism. A number of Muslim philosophers had been following and developing several viewpoints of Greek philosophy, including the Neoplatonic philosophy, and this was leading to conflict with several Islamic teachings. On the other hand, the movement of sufism was assuming such excessive proportions as to avoid observance of obligatory prayers and duties of Islam. Based on his unquestionable scholarship and personal mystical experience, Ghazali sought to rectify these trends, both in philosophy and sufism.

 

To read more, click here.

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As part of its vision and mission, the NASIMCO Post serves as a tool by which to bind our community together and promote a unified and caring environment for all. If you have anything you would like to include in this newsletter, contact us at [email protected].  

 

 

 

Drought of the Horn Famine Crisis

droughtDr. Asghar Moledina recently visited the drought-stricken region of Kenya/Somalia and made the following statement about the situation:

 

"The situation is horrendous, and seems to be getting worse each day. More and more refugees are arriving at these camps and are receiving no assistance, as there are simply not enough resources. These individuals are in desperate need of assistance including food, water and medical supplies. At least ten to twenty people are losing their lives each day. It is truly devastating to see these people in such dire conditions."

 

There are 426,627 refugees in the Dadaab Refugee camp. Since January, 157,934 refugees have arrived in Dadaab. Dabaab is just one of the many camps that are struggling to keep refugees alive. Lack of tents for arriving refugees force them to construct makeshift shelters out of branches and scraps of plastic. Men, women and children choke on clouds of red dust, and carcasses of dead animals lie everywhere.  

 

Your assistance is needed to provide meals and healthcare to the huge influx of people across the Kenya/Somalia border.  Your donation will make the difference between life and death. 

 

Please note that the Canadian Government's Matching Fund Appeal ends on September 16th, 2011.
10 years on - 9/11 Remembered

The World Federation issued a statement on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, expressing profound sympathy for the victims of the attacks. NASIMCO would like to reiterate the sentiments expressed in the statement and further convey condolences to all those who have lost loved ones as a result of terrorist attacks everywhere. Please click here to read the full statement. 

 

Stephen Harper, The Prime Minister of Canada, gave an interview on CBC on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. During the course of the interview, the Prime Minister made a comment about 'Islamicism', or Islamic terrorism, being the biggest security threat to Canada. NASIMCO has written to the Prime Minister urging him against these types of remarks and towards working for unity with Canadian Muslims. You can read the full letter here. 

Qum Summer Camp 2011 Feedback from Participants

qumThe Qum Summer Camp took place from July 22nd to August 12th this year. The participants spent ten days Mahe Ramadhan in the holy city of Mashad, which was a new experience for participants and organizers alike. We asked participants to share their thoughts on different aspects of the camp. Below are some of the comments received:

 

"It was extremely spiritually uplifting"

 

"One thing I really liked that I learned there (at the camp) is to keep time for everything: 1. Your spirituality 2. Your occupation 3. The people you love 4. Yourself etc. This helps me ensure that each day is lived like I'm living my last and I am happy"

 

"This trip has definitely changed me as a person. It taught me how important it was to continue on the right path, and how beneficial it is to be a good muslim, although living in the West it can get pretty hard."

 

"I have definitely gained more faith in Allah and I have more faith in myself to achieve self-betterment as a human being as well as a follower of the Ahlul Bayt."

Minnesota Jamaat - Interfaith Event

On Sunday, September 11th, the Anjuman-e-Asghari of Minnesota held an Open House event in rememberance of the 9/11. The event included a multi-faith prayer service that was led by Pastor Tim Tengblad from Advent Lutheran Church, Rabbi Alexander David from Beth el Synagogue, Mawlana Rizwani and Br. Hussein Walji, both of Ja'afari Islamic Center. The leaders collectively extended a message of peace, condemned the acts of terrorism and prayed for the innocent victims of 9/11 and vicitims of all other terrorism acts around the World. A blood drive was also organized for the day and attracted many donors from different denominations. 

 

Approximately 150 guests from various communities and diverse faiths, including members of the Brooklyn Park Police Dept. and the Brooklyn Park Fire Dept., attended the event.

 

The day was captured by a local paper, Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Channel 5 TV station. 

Star Tribune (Video and Article)

Minnesota Public Radio (Picture 6)

Channel 5 (Video and Article)

A.L.I Courses for the Fall

The Academy of Learning Islam is offering the following courses for the Fall:

 

ALI 201 Introduction to Saheefa Sajjadiyyah  

The course will cover a comprehensive discussion on the significance, role and authenticity of Saheefa Sajjadiyyah.   

 

ALI 202 Historical Stories in the Quran   

The course will cover selected passages of the Quran that discuss brief historical events (other than the Prophets) which have moral and ethical lessons for believers.  

 

For more information or to register, please email [email protected] or visit the A.L.I website

Conference of The Council of Shia Muslim Scholars

Annual conference of The Council of Shia Muslim Scholars in North America is being hosted by the Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya (IMAM) on the weekend of September 17th in Detroit, Michigan. Alongside this, the following other meetings will take place:  

  1. The Collaboration meeting of leaders from Shia Muslim National Organizations in North America
  2. Avicenna Institute of Sciences
  3. The Elia Institute of Strategic Studies & Analysis (E.I.S.S.A.) follow-up Meeting
Conference on Shi'I Islam
Shii islam conference A conference entitled, "The State of the Study of Shi'i Islam in North America and Europe" has been organized for October 8th, 2011 in Hartford, Connecticut. The purpose of the conference is to bring together leading scholars of Shi'i Islam to share perspectives on the rich heritage within the broader civilization of Islam, and to identify efforts to broaden the study of Shi'i Islam in North America.

Please click on the brochure for more information.